Welsh launch £425,000 recycling fund
Managed by consultancy Envirowise, the Resource Efficiency Equipment Fund is intended to reward “value-for-money ideas” on using equipment that could encourage public sector organisations to reduce, reuse or recycle waste. The deadline for submissions to receive a capital grant under the Fund is November 24 2008 and full details can be found at the Fund website.
Welsh minister for the environment, Jane Davidson, said: “We have launched this fund to help public sector organisations become more resource efficient and to discover initiatives that can be replicated elsewhere. We hope to get people thinking about how they can make environmental improvements in the workplace, and that in the public sector as a whole there will be long-term savings that will far outweigh the cost of the fund.”
MP visits Donarbon's Waterbeach site
Jim Paice visited the facility, which will treat all of Cambridgeshire's non-recycled black bin waste, and met with senior management and Donarbon's recycling staff. Mr Paice, whose constituency covers Waterbeach, was given a guided tour of the 400 acre site to see for himself how the company already converts over 60,000 tonnes of food and garden waste from across Cambridgeshire into compost each year as well as the facilities Donarbon uses to process cans, paper, glass, timber and construction waste from local councils and businesses.
Mr Paice said: “Companies like Donarbon are absolutely vital if the UK is to rise from its lowly position at the bottom of the EU league table for recycling. I have been very impressed with what I have seen on the site and the way Donarbon are maximising the use of resources and sending as little as possible to landfill.”
Dorset man fined £13,000 for illegal sites
A Dorset man has been ordered to pay £13,416 in fines and costs for operating two illegal waste transfer stations.
In a case brought by the Environment Agency, Weymouth magistrates' court heard how Andrew O'Donnell of Harcroft Systems, which is situated on Lodge Farm near Blanford, had been running a waste transfer business using the farm's old silage clamps to store various household and commercial wastes, as well as some WEEE items. Mr O'Donnell told Agency officers he had planning permission to operate a waste transfer station but was told he would need to improve his site to qualify. It was then found that Mr O'Donnell had moved his business to Henstridge Airfield in Somerset, and approximately 10 skips of construction and demolition waste were found at the site.
Claire McClumpha for the Environment Agency, said: “Both these sites were illegal because as well as inert waste, the defendant was importing skips loads of controlled wastes as part of his business when there was no waste management licence in force. Waste transfer stations must be properly licensed to safeguard the environment and public health.”
London Assembly visit Closed Loop
The visit was jointly hosted by the London Development Agency (LDA), which has invested significantly in the Closed Loop plant and the regeneration of the Dagenham Dock area. On the visit, assembly members toured the Closed Loop plastic recycling facility and followed the journey of a plastic bottle through the plant: from arrival to the separating, sorting and grinding processes, and finally the rigorous washing which produces an output material suitable for re-use in food packaging.
Chris Dow, managing director of Closed Loop Recycling, said: “We look forward to working with the Assembly to develop recycling in London and encourage the implementation of more effective collection strategies across the Boroughs.”
ADAS appoints new chairman
Wolverhampton-based environmental consultancy ADAS Group has appointed Dr Valentin von Massow as a non-executive chairman.
Dr von Massow currently serves as a non-executive director for a number of businesses in India, Germany and the UK in the field of renewable energy, environment and agriculture, and has over 25 years' experience in professional services, as well as familiarity in working with a number of companies in the environmental and energy sectors. In his role at ADAS, Dr von Massow is expected to drive the next phase of business development as the group continues to expand in environmental and organic waste management services, as well as its trademark agricultural services.
Dr Von Massow said: “The role of ADAS chairman will draw heavily on my strategic and operational development strengths, but I look forward to the challenge. It nicely complements my other non-executive roles in this area.”
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